Tasmania (Hobart Region)

Access to the park is easy and there are many good bushwalks, one of the most popular being a 10 minute walk to Russell Falls which drops 50m into a cool gorge, lush with ferns and rainforest.

It’s 37km through pretty rolling countryside full of hop fields from New Norfolk to Mount Field National Park, a high alpine area with tarns created by glacial activity where, in winter, there’s enough snow to create a small ski field. At the base, the magnificent stands of swamp gum (the tallest species of eucalypt and the tallest hardwood in the world), along with the many waterfalls, help make this Tasmania’s most popular park. 

Most people come here to see the impressive Russell Falls, which cascades in two levels. It’s close to the park entrance and can be reached on an easy, well-graded thirty-minute circuit walk. Longer walks continue on to Horseshoe Falls (1hr) and Lady Barron Falls (3hr return). The best short walk is the Tall Trees Track (1hr 30min), where huge swamp gums dominate; the largest date back to the early nineteenth century.

A shorter option is the Pandani Grove Nature Walk (with an accompanying leaflet available from the ranger station), a forty-minute circuit of the lake, including a section of tall pandanis – the striking heath plant which, with its crown of long fronds, looks like a semi-tropical palm. You’ll need your own transport to reach these higher walks, or you can pay $15 for the Tasmanian Wilderness Travel shuttle bus. 

Alternatively, you could come with the friendly Close to Nature Tours, and walk from their base at the National Park kiosk (tel 03/6288 1477) on a Mount Field Discovery Tour (daily 10am; 2hr 30min; $15), which includes a walk around Lake Dobson. Their torch-lit Nocturnal Wildlife Tour is also worthwhile; the $11.50 fee includes supper and a pre-walk slide show to prepare you for the wildlife you’re likely to see on the walk (nightly 8.30pm; 1hr 30min).

For information on the walks, to register for overnight hikes and to talk to the ranger, drop in to the Mount Field Ranger Station at the entrance to the park (tel 03/6288 1149). An excellent range of free pamphlets detail the natural environment alongside several of the walks in the park. There’s also information here about walks in the South West National Park, several of which can be started from Scotts Peak Road, which runs off the Gordon River Road to the west of Mount Field. 

If you want to stay in the vicinity, head for the tiny settlement of NATIONAL PARK on Maydena Road, a ten-minute walk from the park, which consists of the friendly National Park Hotel , offering basic ground-floor pub accommodation including breakfast, and the easy-going homestead housing the National Park Youth Hostel opposite; there’s plenty of interaction between the two, including pool tournaments, and the pub meals are also popular with travellers. The pub has an EFTPOS facility, but the nearest fuel is 7km further on at Westaway. Within the park itself, there’s a campsite near the ranger station, with civilized amenities including a laundry and a small, well-stocked kiosk (daily 9am–5.30pm). Near the main camping area you can stay in self-contained units at Russell Falls Holiday Cottages.

Nearby Junee State Reserve is prime platypus territory; you can reach it from Mount Field if you have a car or bike, and in summer the ranger often organizes guided walks. Head 11km southwest to Maydena, then right onto the narrow, winding Junee Road for 3.5km. At the reserve the Junee River flows into Junee Cave, a ten-minute walk through regenerating forest. Though platypuses are very common on the Junee River, it doesn’t mean you’ll see any – they’re extremely elusive. The trick is to arrive at dawn or dusk, well camouflaged, and sit quietly for at least an hour. Peta Britton (tel 03/6288 2206) leads trail rides from Junee Road through the reserve, checking out the caves along the way.

For more information on Mount Field National Park, go to:

• Mount Mawson Skifield